beatnomad

I’m Importing Books to Madagascar; It’s Driving Me Crazy

If you are a close friend/family member of mine, I probably bugged you almost a year and a half ago to donate to a huge project aimed at getting 22,000 books from America to 17 different schools and libraries in Madagascar. I really appreciate everyone who helped donate money to the project and I think … Continue reading »

  I first noticed them last Wednesday when I was fetching water at mid-day. The sky was bright and cloudless, and tiny shadows began to flit past in the dirt. Since nothing had taken a swan dive into my head, I initially thought they were the shadows of a flock of tiny birds – not … Continue reading »

Peace Corps volunteers have a reputation for being a little off-kilter. Newbies arrive, meet more seasoned volunteers and think “wow, they’re a little weird.” The seasoned volunteers shake their heads and say “don’t worry, you’ll grow in to it.” Exhibit A: A PCV dancing with a bunch of pousse-pousse drivers and street kids: Just another … Continue reading »

Bringing you a travel snapshot from the Beat Nomad archives each and every Tuesday… … except for last Tuesday because I was having some internet problems. To continue with today’s post: I wish I had better pictures of Lugano, Switzerland. Even though I’ve ended up in the tiny Swiss town just north of Milan several … Continue reading »

I hate to say it, but I’ve gotten used to the Antsirabe market’s smell. It’s a weird combination of muck and old produce, rice being cooked, and charcoal. The meat section has a totally different stench. Even after two years, I scrunch my face and try not to breathe it in as a walk quickly … Continue reading »

Bringing you a travel snapshot from Beat Nomad’s travel archives each and every Tuesday I recently found a blog describing Diego Suarez (the northernmost city in Madagascar, known as Antsiranana in Malagasy) as a “small fishing village”. It made me giggle a little, but then again, everything is relative. It’s small by western standards and … Continue reading »

Dear Mailman, Stop Creeping

Dear Impatient Mailman, While I greatly appreciate that you were concerned enough about me getting my postcard to come to my house and deliver it, you chose one of the worst moments to do so. I had literally just stripped down to take a shower when you knocked on my front door, meaning I wasn’t … Continue reading »

A Skipped Beat in Krabi, Thailand: Tuesday Travel Snapshot

Bringing you a travel snapshot from Beat Nomad’s archives each and every Tuesday: I had a serious space-cadet moment when I was in Ko yao noi, a small island about an hour’s boat ride from Krabi, while traveling around Thailand last September. I said goodbye to my friends, packed up my bag, got on a … Continue reading »

5 Reasons Why Antsirabe is Madagascar’s Best Urban Destination

Happy May, blogosphere. I’m sure for most of you it means a thawing out of the winter that lingered in the northern hemisphere, but for my part, I’ve been camping out in the same pair of sweatpants and light sweater-down-jacket combination for the past three days. Normally, I hate cold weather, but somebody imported maple … Continue reading »

A Skipped Beat in Vienna: Tuesday Travel Snapshot

Bringing you a travel snapshot from Beat Nomad’s archives each and every Tuesday The autumn after I finished college, broke and still not ready for a ‘real job’ (I guess I’m still not), I hitchhiked from Geneva to Vienna, where this photo was taken. Even though I was armed with a less-than-stellar point and shoot, … Continue reading »

How Blogging in the Third World is Frustrating Business

Remember when, back in the day, you’d start up your dial-up internet, most likely with AOL, and your computer would make these obnoxious whrrring sounds, a long, high-pitched eeeeee-rrrrrr, and maybe at some point your family would yell at you to get off the internet because they needed to use the phone? Remember how tediously … Continue reading »

Dining and Hiking on La Reunion’s Active Volcano

Seriously guys, I’ve already gabbed on enough about La Reunion, but want to point out two more highlights of the trip, Le Piton de la Fournaise, an active volcano, and a cozy restaurant called Le QG before returning to posts about Madagascar. Next week, look for some colorful photos I’m eager to share depicting the … Continue reading »

A Skipped Beat: Tuesday Travel Snapshot [Washington]

Bringing you a travel snapshot from Beat Nomad’s archives each and every Tuesday. This photo was taken at Lake Crescent on a trip to the Olympic National Park shortly after I moved to Seattle. A couple of medical students from Arkansas that I met at a hostel and I were staying at Lake Crescent Lodge, … Continue reading »

Rappeling Through Waterfalls in Cilaos, La Reunion

Last week I wrote about a few of my first impressions in La Reunion, but I haven’t even mentioned the best part of the trip: Canyoning in Cilaos! Before arriving in La Reunion, neither Chip nor I had ever done canyoning before, but while doing research on La Reunion I came across a website boasting … Continue reading »

A Skipped Beat: Tuesday Travel Snapshot [Fianaratsoa]

Bringing you a travel snapshot from Beat Nomad’s archives each and every Tuesday. This week’s photo was taken on the RN7 just south of Fianaratsoa, somewhere near Anja National Park, in the wine-making region of Madagascar (although, trust me, it’s terrible — I once got drunk after drinking an entire bottle because I was convinced … Continue reading »